Car-coupling



(No Model.)

A `4 sheets-sheet 2. W. B. DINSMRRJI.

CAR COUPLING.

Patented Mar. 26, 1895.

TTOHNEYS.

(No Model.)

a t e e h s w e e h s 4 L J, um.. G RN 0M Mw S mm R DA .C B

,191. Patented Mar. 26, 1895.

IN VE N 70H Wl TNESSES:

TTURNEYG.

(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 4.

W. B. DINSMORE, Jr. GAR GOUPLING.

No. 536,191'. PatentedMar. 26, 1895.

Wl TIVE SSE S:

NITRD STATES* PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. DINsMoRE, JR., on srAATsBURe, New YORK.`

CAR-COUPLmc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.Y 536,191, dated March26, 1895.

` Appncaannea January-16,1895. serrant. 535,061. maman.)

improved car coupler adapted to couple with an opposing coupler whichalso embodies my invention, no matter in what position the hooks of bothcouplers may be at the moment of coupling, whether the hooks of one orboth couplers be opened orv closed, or partially opened or partiallyclosed.

I am aware that car couplers have been suggested in which the swinginghook has been of such shape, and so mounted in the drawhead, that it hasbeen possible to cause such hook to engage with another coupling hook ifone or both of the hooks are in a fully opened position, and thatcouplers have been suggested having means to retain, orto open andretain, swinging-hooks in a favorable position-fully opened, or nearlyso; butI am not aware that there has heretofore been described a carcoupler having a swinging hook provided with a coupling-arm'combinedtherewith in such form that it will yield to the arm of an opposingcoupler similarly patterned if both couplers be in a positionunfavorable for couplingfully closed, or nearly so. I attain this veryimportant result, in car couplers, by providing the swinging-hook with ayielding coupling arm, constructed and operating in the mannerhereinafter described.`

In all of the couplers heretofore suggested, so far as Iam aware, gravedefects in construction and operation have been noticeable. Although ithas been common to provide an arrangement of chains and cranks on thecar to lift a locking dog, or equivalent means, so as to release theswinging hook, when desiring to couple with an opposing coupler, it hasbeen necessary for the workmen to pull the hook by hand into its openposition, because the hooks become rusted or frozen in the draw-head,even when the couplers are provided with means to open the swinginghook, o'r to open and retain it in the favorable position. By using myinvention, it is not necessary that the workmen shall touch the couplingarm at all, the arm being ,so combined with the swinging hook that itwill permit an opposing coupling arm, similarly patterned, whetheropened or closed, to readily pass, and being also provided with meanswhereby it may be automatically returned to its coupling position.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in a car coupler having aswinging hook provided with a tail, a lock which engages the tail of thehook when in a closed position, at about the central line of thedrawhead, and so combined that the pulling strain upon the coupler isdistributed upon the pivotal pin of the swinging-hook and the tailthereof.

A third object of my invention is to provide, in a car coupler, a novellocking dog, which assures the locking of the swinging hook in theclosed position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which my invention is shownas applied to a coupler of the Janney type, Figure lis a perspectiveview of my coupler with Vthe swinging hook in the open position. Fig. 2is a sectional View of my coupler in a closed position. Fig. 3 is a.sectional view of my coupler in a closed position, showing the .positionof the coupling arm while coupling. Fig. 4 is a view of the pivotal pin.Fig. 5 is a detail view of my improved locking device. Fig. 6 isasectional view of my coupler, on the line`6-6, of Fig. 3.

A is the draw-head, B the swinging hook, and C the yielding-couplingarm. The drawhead may be constructed in any of the usual forms, butpreferably has the bifurcated jaws, D D, the recess E, for the tail Vofthe hook, and the extended guiding portion, F, for the opposing coupler.The swinging hook, B, is preferably of the form shown in theaccompanying drawings, but maybe modified without departing frommyinvention. It is held in position between the jaws, by a pin, G,passing through openings in said jaws and through an opening in theswinging hook. The swinginghook is provided, at its forward yend, with ayielding coupling arm, C, adapted to swing therein and'guided in acircular IOO opening from the front to the rear of the for ward portionof the hook, being retained therein and guided by the bar or pin, G, atthe eXtreme forward point of the hook. The yielding coupling arm, C, isprovided with a stop, K, at its rear end, to prevent its being drawn toofar forward. Itis also provided with a slightly swelled portion, L, toprevent its being thrown too far backward, when struck by an opposingcoupler. The pin, G, heretofore referred to, is preferably cut away, asshown in Fig. 4, and serves to guide the yielding coupling jaw. Thepin,when placed at the point indicated in the drawings, also serves toact as the abutment for the limiting stops, K, L, of the yielding arm.To prevent rocking of the yielding arm, the swelled portion, L, isprovided with ribs, M. M., (Fig. 6,) which, when the coupling arm isswung back, tit into grooves, N, N, in the swinging hook.

The operation of my improved coupler is as follows: If it is desired tocouple two cars both of which are provided with couplers having yieldingarms, the cars are merely brought together so that the yielding couplingarms of the opposing couplers will strike at the parts, 0, thereof. Thecoupling arms will thus be swung back in the heads of the swinginghooks, sufficiently far to to allow them to pass each other, and, whenthey have passed, the portions, T, of the opposing couplers will strikethe ends, Q, of the yielding coupling arms and throw them back to theirnormal position. The two couplers will then remain locked. For thepurpose of coupling cars, it is not necessary, when my improvement isused, to unlock the swinging hooks of either car. In Fig. 2, I haveshown the position of the parts just previous to and just after couplingwith an opposing coupler, and in Fig. 3 I have shown the position of theparts just after the yielding coupling arm has been thrown back to itsextreme position. When desiring to uncouple cars, the swinging hook isunlocked, so as to permit it to be swung out, in the ordinary way.

I have found it very desirable, in car-couplers, to have the tail of theswinging hook locked at substantially the central line of the draw-head,and to have the locking dog and the tail of the swinging hook socombined that the tail of the hook will embrace the lock, whereby thepulling strain upon the coupler is distributed, in my coupler, so as tobe upon the pivotal pin of the swinging-hook and upon the lock at thecentral line of the draw-head. I prefer that the tail, U, of theswinging-hook shall be so shaped as to embrace the locking dog, andprefer that it shall be hook-shaped. By this arrangement of lock andtail, I ani enabled to distribute the pulling strain upon the pivotalpin and upon the tail of the hook, more evenly than heretofore, and inthe event of the breaking of the pivotal pin, G, the swinging-hookcannot be drawn out from the draw-head, and the train broken, but thetail of the hook and engaged 4esami In connection with car couplers, Ihave found it very desirable to use a locking-dog, which is horizontallypivoted in the drawhead in such manner as to readily permit the tail ofthe hook to pass when locking, but to securely hold it in lockingposition when opposing couplers are engaged with each other. I also somount the horizontally pivoted dog in the draw-head that the strain uponthe lock will be a crushing strain rather than a bending strain, so thatthere is less liability of injury to the parts.

The particular form of locking device which I preferably employ, andwhich is shown in detail in Fig. 5, is as follows: V is a flat plate ofmetal, preferably of the form shown in the drawings. This plate ispivoted at W, in the draw-head above the recess E, and is provided withthe cover piece, X, to prevent moisture from entering into thedraw-head. A chain, Y, which may be raised byalever preferably operatedfrom the side of the car,l and connected to the ring, Z, of the cover,X, is used to lift the dog V. Y

In order to avoid any weakening of the draw-head,to accommodate thecover when the dog is lifted, and also to provide a cover which will, inconnection with the horizontally pivoted dog, positively excludemoisture and dust, I have hinged the cover-piece, X, to the upper freeend of the dog, as at When constructed in this manner, it is notnecessary to cut the draw-head to accommodate the end of the covernearest the pivot when the dog is lifted, nor is it necessary to cutthat end 0f the cover to permitthe swinging of the dog, the doing ofwhich permits moisture to enter between the lock and the draw-head. Theposition of the end of the cover nearest the pivot, in my construction,is shown by the dotted lines above the cover when the lock is in alocking position.

Fig. 5 shows the swinging hook as it is being closed, and the tail, U,just before it lifts the locking dog. The position of the parts, afterthe tail has passed the dog, is shown, by the dotted lines, at the leftof the dog.

The operation of my improved locking mechanism is as follows: Whendesiring to uulock engaged couplers, the chain Y is pulled, and the dog,V, lifted from the path of the tail of the hook. The coupler may, also,if desired, be provided with means for throwing the hook into openposition. When the hook is closed by an opposing coupler, the tail, U,lifts the dog V from its path. The tail may be beveled at l, if desired,to facilitate the lifting of the dog, and may also be concave at 2 toconform to the shape of the latch.

The tendency of the strain of the tail of the hook is to crush the plateVagainst the metal v shown, with the shoulder 5,'fitting`snugly in ofthe draw-head at the pivot of the dog, as upon points, 4, and thecrushing strain may be distributed upon other parts ofthe drawhead, andthe pivotal points somewhat relieved, if the dog be formed substantiallyas the draw-head, and with the base, 6, fitting in a depression inthelowerpart of the drawhead. I aim, however, to have the strain acrushing strain, in contradistinction to the bending strain common toprior couplers.

My improved horizontally pivoted vlocking device may be modified,without departing from my invention.

While I have herein described and shown one practical form of myinvention, yet I desire it to be understood that the form audarrangement of the parts may be varied without departing from myinvention.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

v l. A carcoupler, comprising ahead, aswinging hook provided with acoupling-arm adapted to yield to an opposing coupler while coupling,means for locking the swinging hook and means for releasing the same,substantially as described.

2. Acar coupler comprisingahead,aswing ing hook provided with a couplingarm adapted to swing in the hook whilecoupling with an opposing coupler,means for locking the swinging hook and means for releasing the same,substan tially as described.

3. A car coupler comprising a head, a swinging hook,- means for loekin gthe swinging hook and means for releasing the same, the swinging hookbeing provided with a yielding coupling arm, part of which is projectedfrom the swinging hook by an opposing coupler while coupling, and whichpart is returned toits normal position by the opposing coupler as thecoupling is eected, substantially as described.

4. Acarcouplercomprisingahead,aswinging hook, means for locking theswinging hook and means for releasing thesame, the swinging hook beingprovided with a coupling arm adapted to swing therein, and part of whichis projected from the swinging hook by an opposing coupler whilecoupling, and which part is returned to its normal position by theopposing coupler as the coupling is edected, substantially as.described.

5. A car-coupler'comprising a head, aswingin g-hook provided with acoupling-arm adapted to yield to an opposing coupler while coupling, andprovided also with a tail, means for locking the swinging-hook bylocking the tail at substantially the central line of the drawhead, thesaid tail being formed to embrace the means for releasing theswinging-hook, substantially as described.

6. A car-coupler comprising a head, a swinging-hook, means for lockingsaid hook and means for releasing the same, the said swinging hook beingprovided with a coupling arm adapted to yield to an opposingcouplerwhile coupling, the coupling arm having means to limit its movement ineither direction, substantially as described.

7. A car coupler comprising a head, a swinging-hook, means for lockingsaid hook and means for releasing the same, the said swinging-hook beingprovided with a coupling arm adapted to yield to Van opposing couplerwhile coupling, the coupling arm having means to limit its movement byabutting -against the pivotal pin of the Aswinging hook, substantiallyas described.

8. A car coupler comprising a head, a swinging-hook, means for lockingsaid hookY and means for releasing the same, the said swinging-hookbeing provided with a coupling arm adapted to yield to an opposingcoupler while coupling, and to swing past the pivotal pin of theswinging-hook, and in a recess of said pin, and provided with means tolimit its movement by abutting against the said pin, substantially asdescribed.

9. A ear coupler, comprising a head, a swinging-hook provided with acoupling arm adapted to yield to an opposing coupler while coupling,means for locking or releasing said hook consisting of a doghorizontally pivoted in the draw-head and adapted to be lifted by thetail of the hook while ,locking and to be lifted by a chain whenunlocking, substantially as described.

10. A car-coupler, comprising a head, a swinging-hook provided with acoupling arm adapted to yield to au opposing coupler while IOO coupling,the swinging-hook having a tail, i

be lifted by a chain when unlocking, substantially as described.

11. A car-coupler, comprising a head, a swinging-hook provided with acoupling arm adapted to yield to an opposin g coupler while coupling,means for locking or releasing said hook consisting of a doghorizontally pivoted in the draw-head and adapted to be lifted by thetail of the hook while locking and to be lifted by a chain whenunlocking, the tail of the hook adapted to bear upon the dog whenlocked,so as'to exert a crushing strain thereon, substantially asdescribed.

12; A car-coupler, comprising a head, a swinging-hook provided with acoupling arm adapted to yield to an opposing coupler while coupling, theswinging-hook havinga tail, means for locking the swinging hook by lock-IV2 O the hook bearing upon the dog when locked xo so as to exert acrushing strain thereon, substantielly as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my neme this 14th day ofJanuary, 1895.

W. B. DINSMORE, JR. In presence of W. H. BERRIGAN, Jr., J AMES J.COSGROVE.

